Trial delayed for woman accused of kidnapping Jacksonville newborn

Gloria Williams' lawyer says more time needed to review materials

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A woman facing charges of kidnapping a newborn 19 years ago from a Jacksonville hospital had her trial delayed Tuesday.

Gloria Williams, 51, is accused of kidnapping Kamiyah Mobley from what was then known as University Medical Center. She was arrested in January, ending a mystery that spanned nearly two decades. Williams allegedly raised Kamiyah as her own daughter, naming her Alexis Manigo.
Investigators used DNA to confirm that Manigo was, in fact, baby Kamiyah, taken from the hospital eight hours after she was born.

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Williams has been sitting in the Duval County Jail for almost eight months since she was extradited to Florida after being arrested in Walterboro, South Carolina, in January.

At her court appearance on Tuesday, Williams’ attorney, Diana Johnson, asked the judge for a continuance, saying she needs more time to go through more than 1,100 pages of discovery materials provided by the prosecution.

Johnson said it wasn’t possible to get through all of the materials within the next seven weeks for the Nov. 13 jury selection date.

Williams will now have to wait in the Duval County Jail until Feb. 12 for jury selection.

Other than a few national television interviews, Manigo has been pretty quiet since her life made global headlines. She was not in court with Williams Tuesday.

Lawyers have said throughout the case that the complexity it brings, the need for punishment if Williams is found guilty, but knowing the desires of all parties involved, including Manigo and her biological parents, may be very different.